Chilton County, Alabama
Chilton County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama known for its peaches. Its name is in honor of William Parish Chilton, 1810-1871, a lawyer who became Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court and later represented Montgomery County in the Congress of the Confederate States of America. On February 4,1861 Wm. Chilton graveled the Confederacy into existence, as acting leader of the Provisional Congress. In 1942, the U.S. Navy commissioned a new vessel the USS Chilton in honor of Chilton County. As of 2000, the population was 39,593. The county seat is Clanton and it's a prohibition, or dry county. The center of population of Alabama is located in Chilton County, outside of the town of Jemison, an area known as Jemison Division http://www.census.gov/geo/www/cenpop/statecenters.txt. History Baker County was established on December 30, 1868, named for Alfred Baker, with its county seat at Grantville. In 1874, the county was renamed Chilton County. It is not known when the county seat was moved. The area has a dark history of events during the reconstruction era. A group called the Blackwell gang murdered, raped, and robbed across the baker county area for years. Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,815 km² (701 sq mi). Nearly 1,797 km² (694 sq mi) of it is land, and 18 km² (7 sq mi) of it (0.97%) is water. Major Highways * Interstate 65 *20px U.S. Highway 31 * U.S. Highway 82 * State Route 22 *20px State Route 139 *20px State Route 145 *20px State Route 155 Adjacent Counties *Shelby County (north) *Coosa County (east) *Elmore County (southeast) *Autauga County (south) *Perry County (southwest) *Bibb County (northwest) Demographics As of the census² of 2000, there were 39,593 people, 15,287 households, and 11,342 families residing in the county. The population density was 22/km² (57/sq mi). There were 17,651 housing units at an average density of 10/km² (25/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 86.71% White, 10.61% Black or African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.51% from other races, and 0.69% from two or more races. Nearly 2.91% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 15,287 households out of which 34.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.10% were married couples living together, 10.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.80% were non-families. Nearly 22.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57, and the average family size was 3.00. In the county the population was spread out with 25.70% under the age of 18, 9.10% from 18 to 24, 29.00% from 25 to 44, 23.40% from 45 to 64, and 12.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 97.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.90 males. The median income for a household in the county was $32,588, and the median income for a family was $39,505. Males had a median income of $31,006 versus $21,275 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,303. About 12.60% of families and 15.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.40% of those under age 18 and 18.20% of those age 65 or over. Cities and towns *Clanton *Jemison *Maplesville *Thorsby *Verbena External Links *Official Site * Chilton County map of roads/towns (map © 2007 Univ. of Alabama). Category:Chilton County, Alabama